MSpy Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?

mSpy comes with an impressive list of features, which we’ll get to in a minute, but for me, the best feature is the Control Panel or Dashboard. It makes it so easy for me to remotely manage my kid’s phone and monitor all the data it collects. I’ve tested other parental control apps that send tons of information to the Dashboard, and I had to scroll for a while to find the picture or information I needed.

The mSpy dashboard is very organized, and I had no trouble finding all the information I needed. It gives a general overview of all the important data on the main, and then I can click on any section for more details.

See with whom your child is speaking and texting

I like that there are no secrets with mSpy. It shows me who my child is talking to, along with a timestamp and length of the conversation.

I can also read SMS and view MMS messages that are sent or received. mSpy can also access messages sent on WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, Skype, Line, Snapchat, and Hangouts.

To be frank, I felt somewhat uneasy about the extent of intrusion into privacy. Nevertheless, I am certain that I would forever blame myself if I discovered that my child was experiencing cyberbullying, harboring suicidal ideations, seeking information about drugs and alcohol, and I had the opportunity to assist but chose not to.

Keylogger and Screen Recorder

If a certain content appeared on my son’s phone, I could easily access it through my control panel. The screen recorder feature captures a screenshot whenever there is a change on the screen and uploads it with a timestamp. This allows me to precisely track when my son viewed the content. This functionality proved to be immensely valuable as there is no web filter that categorizes content. Nevertheless, I have the ability to manually blacklist specific websites by entering their URLs. For instance, if my son visits a website like RedTube, which might go unnoticed due to its similarity to YouTube, the screenshots reveal its true nature as a pornographic site, enabling me to block its URL.

The keylogger installs a special keyboard on the phone and records everything typed, even deleted texts.

While these features can feel like an invasion of my son’s privacy, it’s important to remember that they can protect my son, whether it’s from viewing harmful content online, being bullied, speaking inappropriately, and much more.

I don’t check the dashboard every day, but I’ll look at his online activities on days when he’s not talking much or staying in his room. This is the only way for me to know what’s going on in his life and be there for him.

Protect Your Kids with mSpy

Block Apps and Keywords

mSpy makes it easy to monitor what my son is watching online. Every app that is installed on his phone appears in the Control Panel, and if I don’t want my son to use that app, I can simply block it. Personally, I didn’t find this feature helpful for my 13-year-old, but if you’re using it on younger kids then it can be very helpful.

The keyword tracking feature is another good example of how mSpy helps me protect my son. I can add words or phrases that I want the system to track. If my son types it in, I’ll get a notification in my email. I use this feature to make sure that he’s not getting involved in sex, alcohol, and drugs.

Real-Time Location Tracker and Geofence options

The mSpy app accesses the phone’s GPS, so I always know exactly where my son is at any given time. Not only that, but the geofence feature lets me create multiple “safe zones” and “forbidden zones.”

The mobile phone tracker will update me anytime my son enters and leaves the zones. I find this helpful in making sure he gets to school on time, and if he says he is going to a friend’s house, that it’s where he’s actually going. mSpy gives the option to receive notifications to my email or mobile device, plus it creates an alert on the dashboard.

I receive an email alert each time he enters or leaves the zone, which is perfect for making sure he’s at school or really going to his friend’s house in the evening. mSpy saves the location history, so even if I’m not watching in real-time, I can still check out where he’s been.

Monitor internet activities

Even without a filter, mSpy helps me monitor what my son is doing online. It tracks the browser history and provides the web page’s name and a direct link to each page he visited. I can also see a complete list of all the bookmarks, giving me insight into his favorite websites. There is no web filter, which is disappointing, but I can create a list of banned URLs that won’t load if he tries to visit them.

I liked that I can create a list of keywords, and receive an alert whenever my son searched for it. There is also a browsing history tracker, so I can see which sites my son is visiting.

One of the newer features that mSpy added is Website Bookmark marking. With this feature, I can quickly see if my son has added any new bookmarks or favorite websites that he likes to visit. If I see anything in the browsing history or on the bookmarks that I don’t like, mSpy makes it easy to block the entire website.

If creating web filters or setting screen time limits is important for you, check out my Qustodio review.

To get the full benefit of all the mSpy premium features you will need to root your child’s Android device before installing the app. While it sounds difficult, I was very impressed with the installation guide provided by mSpy. It included clear instructions and GIFs that showed me exactly what to do. The whole process only took a few minutes.

You need access to the child’s device to install the app. If you don’t have the phone while you’re creating the account, choose the “No, I don’t option,” and mSpy will send you a link so you can start the installation process when you have the phone.

Instead of uploading an app named mSpy, the app comes with a generic name, which is great if you plan on installing the app without your child’s knowledge. mSpy walks you through the steps to delete any traces of the installation and the file. Once installed, mSpy works completely in the background, without slowing down the device or draining the battery quickly.